SPECIAL

8th ALBUM『Secret』 ayumi hamasaki SPECIAL INTERVIEW

A special interview to commemorate the completion! and release of ayu's 8th album 『Secret』, slated to hit stores on November 29

Mr. kaz: First of all, I'd like to ask about the meaning behind the album's title, 『Secret』.

ayu: As the title suggests, this album is literally a secret. But it's not a secret in the sense that "I'm about to disclose something you didn't know!" Instead, it could be about "me" in my daily life, or it could be about you… Everyone keeps secrets; there is not one person on this planet who does not have at least one secret, nor is there a person who can tell others everything about him or herself. Even when you try to understand others (or to have a mutual understanding with others), there is always a "you" that only you know about. I have aspects that only certain people know about and aspects that everyone knows about. That's what I call a secret. And in this sense, there are secrets incorporated into this album. As people hear 『Secret』, they might think "that's one of my secrets" or "when I hear this song, I think I know her secret." They might even think "my secret and ayu's secret could be similar or even the same." That's how I want people to listen to the album.

Mr. kaz: Certainly, if you think about it, you never know everything about anybody-even your blood relatives or your lover-except yourself. Even if you think you know everything, the other person actually has interests you didn't know about or maybe even a completely different personality…

ayu: That's right. There's always something you don't know.

Mr. kaz: I think what you don't know is always greater than what you think you know.

ayu: Right. A person would be unattractive and uninteresting as a human being if he or she didn't keep at least one secret. If you knew everything about a person, you would cease having an interest in him or her, and your relationship with that person would not progress. People are attractive simply because there are mysterious qualities about them, and I think that's why you want to be with them.